Why Loudness Often Fails (And How to Master Clean & Loud with Free Plugins)
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Why Loudness Often Fails (And How to Master Clean & Loud with Free Plugins) Why Loudness Often Fails (And How to Master Clean & Loud with Free Plugins) Everybody wants their tracks to sound loud and clean like the pros. But here’s the truth: push your mix too hard and boom — distortion ruins everything. In this post I break down my exact mastering chain, recreated using seven free plugins . Follow this step-by-step guide and you’ll learn how to get loud, clean masters without distortion — even if you can’t afford expensive tools yet. I’ll also mention the paid alternatives I normally use so you can upgrade later. Watch the Tutorial Here: Before & After Demo Without mastering: raw playback With the mastering chain: clean, loud playback (around -9 LUFS , no distortion). The master sounds punchy and loud while remaining clean. The Free Plugin Chain EQ — ZL Equalizer Glue Compression — BusterSE (Analog Obsession) Vintage Program Equali...